Derek Hough, Witney Carson and More Weigh In on Tyra Banks’ ‘DWTS’ Hosting

Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless

Derek Hough, Witney Carson and More Weigh In on Tyra Banks’ ‘DWTS’ Hosting

Welcome to the ballroom! Tyra Banks had a big hill to climb when she stepped in as the new host of Dancing With the Stars in 2020. The former America’s Next Top Model host made headlines in July 2020 when she was announced as the solo host for season 29 of the show after Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews were unexpectedly let go. “I’ve been a fan of DWTS since its beginning. The fun mixed with raw emotion, seeing celebrities push past their comfort zones, the sizzling dance performances,” the model said in a statement at the time. “It’s always transported me to my days of turning it up 10 notches on the catwalk. Tom has set a powerful stage, and I’m excited to continue the legacy and put on my executive producer and hosting hats.” A few weeks into season 29, which premiered in September 2020, Banks commented on the criticism she received after experiencing more than one onscreen misstep. “Every host messes up. It’s just normal. It’s live TV. If it wasn’t live, there would be no mess-ups,” she exclusively told Us Weekly that month. “Even on America’s Next Top Model, I would mess up and tell my editors to leave it in. That’s what makes things human and makes like live.” The True Beauty creator noted that part of being a good host is owning the not-so-perfect moments. [jwplayer n1hLMby9-l3ahXupL] “If I didn’t want to mess up, if I wanted to be perfect, I know how to do that. There’s a very clear way as a host that you just read the words and you’re perfect and you know exactly how to do that,” the California native said. “But when you’re relaxed and you keep it real, the mess-ups happen. And the producer in me knows that even though somebody might be like, ‘Oh, my gosh, you’re messing up!’ it’s live, and it’s real. It’s better than being like a doll.” Banks reflected on her first season while speaking with Us and other reporters following the November 2020 finale, revealing how she’d rate herself if she were one of the show’s judges. “OK, I’m gonna be Derek [Hough]. ‘Girl, you came out here! You’re, like, 'Yo, I’m new and I’m gonna do this thing! You know you kind of got your groove, it took you a little while to get it, like around halfway through, girl it was yours, you took it, you were going. Go miss thang!’” she said. “You know how he does that? ‘I give you a 11!’” When it comes to what she was most proud of as both the DWTS host and an executive producer on the series, Banks added, “I am most proud of just getting through this damn thing and not falling.” She joked that “slipping and sliding” is a real possibility based on her wardrobe. “[I’m] happy that I now feel like I’m so in my bones and I feel like I can be myself.” Scroll down to see how some of the other DWTS dancers and judges, including Hough and Witney Carson, feel about Banks after her first season at the helm: [podcast_block]

Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless

Derek Hough, Witney Carson and More Weigh In on Tyra Banks’ ‘DWTS’ Hosting

Welcome to the ballroom! Tyra Banks had a big hill to climb when she stepped in as the new host of Dancing With the Stars in 2020. The former America’s Next Top Model host made headlines in July 2020 when she was announced as the solo host for season 29 of the show after Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews were unexpectedly let go. “I’ve been a fan of DWTS since its beginning. The fun mixed with raw emotion, seeing celebrities push past their comfort zones, the sizzling dance performances,” the model said in a statement at the time. “It’s always transported me to my days of turning it up 10 notches on the catwalk. Tom has set a powerful stage, and I’m excited to continue the legacy and put on my executive producer and hosting hats.” A few weeks into season 29, which premiered in September 2020, Banks commented on the criticism she received after experiencing more than one onscreen misstep. “Every host messes up. It’s just normal. It’s live TV. If it wasn’t live, there would be no mess-ups,” she exclusively told Us Weekly that month. “Even on America’s Next Top Model, I would mess up and tell my editors to leave it in. That’s what makes things human and makes like live.” The True Beauty creator noted that part of being a good host is owning the not-so-perfect moments. [jwplayer n1hLMby9-l3ahXupL] “If I didn’t want to mess up, if I wanted to be perfect, I know how to do that. There’s a very clear way as a host that you just read the words and you’re perfect and you know exactly how to do that,” the California native said. “But when you’re relaxed and you keep it real, the mess-ups happen. And the producer in me knows that even though somebody might be like, ‘Oh, my gosh, you’re messing up!’ it’s live, and it’s real. It’s better than being like a doll.” Banks reflected on her first season while speaking with Us and other reporters following the November 2020 finale, revealing how she’d rate herself if she were one of the show’s judges. “OK, I’m gonna be Derek [Hough]. ‘Girl, you came out here! You’re, like, 'Yo, I’m new and I’m gonna do this thing! You know you kind of got your groove, it took you a little while to get it, like around halfway through, girl it was yours, you took it, you were going. Go miss thang!’” she said. “You know how he does that? ‘I give you a 11!’” When it comes to what she was most proud of as both the DWTS host and an executive producer on the series, Banks added, “I am most proud of just getting through this damn thing and not falling.” She joked that “slipping and sliding” is a real possibility based on her wardrobe. “[I’m] happy that I now feel like I’m so in my bones and I feel like I can be myself.” Scroll down to see how some of the other DWTS dancers and judges, including Hough and Witney Carson, feel about Banks after her first season at the helm: [podcast_block]

Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless

Derek Hough

“She was great,” Hough exclusively told Us in April 2021. “Her walk down ... I started looking forward to it. I'm, like, 'All right, what do we got today?' What's she walking down to today and [she] never disappointed.” The DWTS pro-turned-judge pointed out that Banks had “some outrageous, crazy and fun looks,” which made her introduction each week “a lot of fun” to watch. “It's a big role to fill, for sure. And I think that she did a great job and live TV is extraordinarily difficult. I think she did a phenomenal job,” he added.

Credit: ABC/Kelsey McNeal

Witney Carson

After sitting out season 29 of Dancing With the Stars amid her pregnancy — she welcomed son Leo in January 2021 — Carson told Us what it was like watching the new host from her couch. “I thought Tyra was bold. I'll say that,” she said in May 2021. “She was very fun. Live television is very hard and especially hosting a live television show and coming [on after] Tom, obviously, who's been there forever, is a lot of pressure. So, I applaud her. It’s really hard to do. And I'm hoping to see her again.”

Credit: ABC/Laretta Houston

Keo Motsepe

“I love Tyra,” Motsepe exclusively told Us in April 2021, noting he watched the California native on America’s Next Top Model with his sisters growing up. When it came to her work on DWTS, the ballroom dancer had only good things to say. “She did a good job, you know, and I think people at home have to allow the change,” he said. “As long as every season is a different celebrity and they [are] open to that, they should be open to a different judge, a different host, a different dance. It's hard sometimes when there's a change because you [are] used to one thing, but, I think change is always good.”

Credit: ABC/Laretta Houston

Cheryl Burke

The “Pretty Messed Up” podcast cohost opened up about watching Banks take charge of the longtime reality series during an interview with Us and other outlets in October 2020. “It’s really refreshing, I think, to see her just basically call herself out for certain things,” Burke said. “When that happened with the missed results, whatever happened, she handled it pretty well. I mean she’s, like, ‘Guys this is live television, it is what it is,’ and she’s very real. She’s not just, like, reading a teleprompter. She’s going, she’s ad-libbing. I think she’s great. She really is.”

Credit: ABC/Kelsey McNeal

Jenna Johnson

“Tyra Banks is an icon. I think that she is so lovely,” Johnson said during an October 2020 episode of the “I Don’t Get It” podcast. “On set, it’s so funny, because I feel like she has such this big presence, but she is such a little sweetheart. In dress rehearsals she’ll always say hi to us. She’s so sweet. I’ve loved getting to know her from a distance.”

Credit: Shutterstock

Karamo Brown

The Queer Eye star exclusively told Us in October 2020 about his viewing experience for season 29 with Banks at the helm. “Tyra is doing great. I love her. She’s an icon, but I miss Tom on there,” Brown, who previously competed on season 28, said. “Tyra is so fresh and new and whatever. She’s doing a really good job because there are a lot of moving parts.”